Commentary:Haggai gives a message to the people who have returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. The Jerusalem to which the people have returned is a far cry from the Jerusalem which they left. Homes, business, livelihoods, and the Temple have been destroyed. After being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the city and surrounding land had been burned; it was no longer the land of milk and honey. The people struggled. Haggai had four messages for the people: (1) rebuild the Temple and do not focus on their own luxurious, (2) encouragement for those rebuilding the Temple which was not as splendid as the old, (3) a reminder that holiness only comes through obedience to the Lord and not through works, and (4) a reminder that the Lord will return to rule and sit on the throne of David.

Focus Verses:1:5-9 What can you learn from these verses? How can these verses be applied today?